Produce store opens in the Village

The first thing you notice when you walk into Deloris and Harold Weaver’s store is that, despite its name, "Weaver Produce," it is much more than produce.

Not that there aren’t beautiful fruits and vegetables sourced from carefully selected local farmers. Samples of luscious black velvet tomatoes guaranteed a sellout of that unique variety. Three colors of bite-sized tomatoes filled another container – a mixture of yellow, red and black velvet nuggets of flavor. Weaver describes the big red onions as "sweeter than a Valdalia – measured at 17 percent sugar."

The pick of the crop, fresh okra, would make an excellent pairing with the lush Arkansas tomatoes, not that Southern cooks need any advice when it comes to cooking okra – or peas and beans.

And what would a produce market be without peas – lots of different peas – purple hull peas, black eyed peas, pinto beans, lima beans, creamer peas and speckled butter beans, all vacuum packed, frozen and ready to cook.

Harold Weaver underwent surgery for cancer on June 23, so Deloris is acting as sole proprietor with help from a customer and friend, Skip Heath, and the official greeter, a sweet dog named Buddy.

The Weavers will be familiar to many in Hot Springs Village because they live here and have sold their homemade goods and vegetables from tables set up near the East Gate Shell station. The packing and toting became too much for them, so they jumped at the opportunity to relocate at 111 Ponderosa Ln. in a location recently vacated by Drake Optical Services.

Signs decorate the walls listing items for sale, all homemade from local sources. Tables are laden with jars of pickles, jams and jellies, sauces, salsas, relishes, soups and local honey from J. R. Richards in Benton. A quart of Deloris’ homemade vegetable soup would make a great gift for a convalescent.

Jalapenos and other hot peppers show up in several of the jams and jellies. Besides the popular use as an hors d’oeuvre (pour over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers), Weaver said she uses it to baste meats when she cooks – especially good with chicken or pork.

Trish Phillips makes many of the goodies sold in the Weavers’ store. These include gluten free bread and cookies, as well as regular cookies sweetened with honey. Phillips also smokes meat and seals them in small serving vacuum packs.

The Weavers stock many Amish products. One unique item is an "Amish breakfast." It consists of shredded potatoes, onions, eggs and three cheeses. Some also have sausage or bacon. Both are available in individual servings vacuum sealed to keep in the freezer until ready to use.

"Our goal is to turn this into a country store," Weaver said. However, sooner, when Harold is able, they will add shelves in place of the tables and a glass-top freezer to replace the upright freezers they use now. They are moving in towards a country store by constantly adding new products, many of them good for gifts as well as personal use.

Their peanut butter is the real thing. It contains peanuts. That’s peanuts, period. No preservatives or sweeteners. Many of the jams and jellies are homemade in the Weavers’ kitchen, including strawberry jam made with real Arkansas strawberries.

Old customers from their road-side stand have discovered the Weavers in their new location and, on one recent morning, appeared in a steady stream stocking up for the week and planning to come back next week for watermelon and cantaloupe. The watermelons are the little ones, seedless with thin skins. "They are so sweet and delicious," Weaver said. Every week the list of produce grows longer as crops mature.

Trish Sikes, who owns "Spoil Me Rotten" salon, is a regular customer. "I’ve been shopping with the Weavers for three years," she said. "They have the best produce at the best prices."

"We know if we don’t offer consistent quality, they’ll come once and tell all their friends the bad stuff, so it’s important that they get quality every time they come," Weaver said.

Asked how she would compete with the farmers at the Grove, Weaver remarked that they are residents of the Village and support the Village. People know us. God has blessed us with some good friends," said Weaver, adding that many are people they know at their church, The Church of Christ. Also, they know the farmers and are selective in what they bring into their store.